SMA to close Denver factory, lay off 280
The world’s largest inverter maker says the move is “unavoidable”, and is maintaining its sales and service operations in California.
Tesla: Gigafactory is “on schedule” to support 2017 Model 3 roll-out
Elon Musk gave scarce information on developments at the world’s largest battery factory in Tesla’s Q2 results.
Enphase reports third quarter of losses in Q2 2016
The microinverter maker has pursued price reduction to gain market share, but has not turned a profit since Q3 2015.
Hemlock leveraging SolarWorld contracts to get Chinese trade duties removed
The court document from the dramatic initial ruling in the SolarWorld and Hemlock Semiconductor polysilicon dispute reveals that Hemlock was willing to negotiate amendments to the polysilicon Supply Agreements with SolarWorld subsidiary Deutsche Solar, if the German company assisted in resolving a dispute “between the US and China over the exchange of solar-industry products.”
SolarWorld ready to appeal Hemlock case
The German PV group says it is optimistic that Hemlock will not succeed in actually enforcing any claims against it in Germany, arguing that the disputed silicon supply contract at the center of the legal dispute violates EU antitrust law.
Sonnen introduces new residential battery at up to 40% cost reduction
The new 4 kWh sonnenBatterie eco compact retails at $5,950 plus inverter but before installation.
IHS inverter scorecard praises leading suppliers’ tenacity and ambition
The analyst’s holistic review of the inverter landscape finds SMA, SolarEdge, Schneider Electric, Sungrow, Huawei and ABB each boast certain strengths that enable them to serve various markets.
Overheating and incompatible plug connectors
Black sheep I: In a Bavarian solar farm, experts discovered overheated junction boxes after commissioning and, later, overheated plug connectors as well. The prime contractor was willing to fix both defects. The crossed plug connectors from different manufacturers, which are relatively common in the PV farm, are still a headache for the operator. In a […]
Inverter shipments to reach 90 GW globally by 2020, says GTM
New report suggests that PV inverters and module level power electronics will grow by an average annual rate of 11% between now and 2020, with central inverters set to relinquish market dominance. The GTM Research Global PV Inverter and MLPE Landscape 2016 report, released today, forecasts a period of strong growth for both standard inverters […]
Soltec ships 150 MW of trackers to the United States
The company won’t say where its first U.S. tracker shipment is headed, but all indications are that it is Enel’s 150 MW project in Minnesota. On Tuesday, Spanish tracker maker Soltec announced that it had supplied its SF Utility Single Axis Solar Tracker for an un-named 150 MW project somewhere in the United States. The […]
